News release

Environment Week: Worm Woman Visits Nova Scotia

Environment and Labour (Oct. 2000 - March 2008)

ENVIRONMENT/LABOUR--Environment Week: Worm Woman Visits Nova Scotia


Children always seem to be fascinated by worms. That's something that Mary Appelhof wants to encourage. She likes it when you call her "the Worm Woman."

She's coming to Nova Scotia to spread the message that "worms can eat your garbage."

The Nova Scotia Department of Environment and Labour and the Resource Recovery Fund Board have arranged for Ms. Appelhof to visit the province as part of Environment Week, June 1 to June 7.

On June 2, Ms. Appelhof will visit Shambhala School, Joseph Howe Elementary School and Westmount School in Halifax. She will give talks to explain the process of vermicomposting (composting with worms).

Ms. Appelhof, who is from Kalamazoo, Mich., has been telling the world about worms since 1972, when she established her own business, Flowerfield Enterprises, to research and develop ways to use worms to process kitchen wastes.

"Worms eat my garbage. They've been doing it for 31 years. I set up my basement worm bin with shredded newspaper, a bit of soil, and a few thousand redworms. I bury food waste in it. The worms eat it," Ms. Appelhof says.

Educating children about worms and their ability to convert food waste into a resource is Ms. Appelhof's life. Her publishing company, Flower Press, has published books specifically for schools, including Worms Eat my Garbage, Worms Eat Our Garbage: Classroom Activities for a Better Environment, and The Worm Café: Mid-scale Vermicomposting of Lunchroom Wastes. Her company's most recent offering is a children's picture book, Compost, By Gosh! An Adventure with Vermicomposting, by Michelle Portman. Ms. Appelhof will read to students from this book while she is in Nova Scotia.

Vermicomposting in schools appears to be catching on in Nova Scotia. Shambhala School recently purchased a worm composter, with funding from the Resource Recovery Fund Board.

"Eventually the food waste and bedding turns into worm castings which you can use in the garden," Ms. Appelhof says. "The whole process truly is on-site recycling."

For more on Mary Appelhof visit her Web site at www.wormwoman.com .